High-end home theaters typically include a large screen high definition television with a sound system that incorporates subwoofer loudspeakers. Stand alone high performance subwoofers may include an in-built amplifier and more than one driver which collectively require a cabinet or enclosure that is relatively large in size. Many owners of home theaters are reluctant to incorporate subwoofers of this type into their sound system for aesthetic reasons and because they take up so much space.
One solution to this problem has been the development of in-wall subwoofers which are mounted within a cavity formed in the wall of the home theater room. The cavity is defined by the space between two adjacent studs which extend between a top plate at the ceiling of the room and a bottom plate along the floor. The cavity is closed by wallboard on either side of the studs, with only a small grill area where the speaker driver is located showing in the room.
Traditionally, in-wall subwoofers and other speakers are mounted in the wall cavity using brackets, screws or other means of attachment which connect the speaker cabinet directly to the studs and/or to the top and bottom plates. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,296,280; 4,903,300; 6,098,743; 6,550,570; 6,360,842; 7,292,702 and 7,503,422. Mounting of the speaker cabinet in this fashion creates a very rigid connection to the wall structure, which allows vibration from the speaker to be directly transferred to the wall. Wall vibrations can adversely affect the sound output from the speaker, and cause noisy rattling from any items attached to the wall such as pictures, shelves and the like.
In addition to the rigid form of connection noted above, vibration can occur in prior in-wall speaker mounting systems due to the size of the speaker itself. Traditional loudspeaker cabinets have a depth dimension which is nearly the same as the width of the wall studs. As a result, the speaker driver is located very close to the wallboard forming the front and back of the wall. If the front or back of the speaker cabinet touches the wallboard, rattles and buzzes may be created while music or a movie is being played due to vibration transfer. Any noises of this sort during playback are particularly annoying to the home theater owner and can lead to extensive follow-up work for the installer.